The Tampa Bay area is currently sitting in a relative calm compared to the rest of the state, with its density of chronic offenders trailing the Florida average by 39%. While the rest of the Sunshine State deals with a massive backlog of trouble, this region has managed to keep its head above water. Still, a few spots managed to trip the alarm during recent weeks. Inspectors recorded 198 high-priority hits across Tampa Bay—those are the serious violations that suggest a kitchen is more jungle than gourmet. The list of offenders included 2 bars, 1 Diner, 1 Performing Arts venue, and 1 Seafood spot.
Emergency Orders
44 records this window
Restaurants closed by DBPR emergency order in the last 90 days.
Before the cocktail hour, the auditors did their rounds: THE BOAT CLUB in Tarpon Springs, ROUEN THAI RESTAURANT in Tampa and EL LUNCH LATINO in Clearwater put the sharpest marks on Tampa Bay's list. 44 emergency-order shutdowns in the 90-day window — DBPR ordered the kitchen closed on the spot. These are the most actionable signals: faster than admin actions, faster than license cancellation, faster than corporate dissolution. Across the Red Alert cohort: 2 diners, 1 Cafe, 1 Pub, and 1 Sushi. Trend line: emergency-order volume is steady against the last public cut. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: an emergency order means DBPR ordered service stopped until a callback inspection clears it. The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- THE BOAT CLUBTarpon Springs1 HP2 INT12 BASPestScore 182last visit 2026-06-08
- ROUEN THAI RESTAURANTTampa1 HP1 BASPestScore 151last visit 2026-06-03
- EL LUNCH LATINOClearwater1 HP1 INT4 BASPestScore 164
- CAFE BICH NGAPinellas Park9 HP6 INT11 BASPestScore 1021last visit 2026-06-04
- DISCOVERY INDIAN CUISINEPalm Harbor2 HP2 BASPestScore 252last visit 2026-06-02
+39 more in this section on the live site.
Near Miss
198 records this window
Inspections in the last 30 days that posted high-priority violations but were not shut down.
Even the alligators in the parking lot have seen better: VINTAGE ON 5TH in Crystal River, K-POT KOREAN BBQ & HOT POT in St. Petersburg and SALEM'S FRESH EATS in Tampa ran away with the Tampa Bay count. 198 high-priority citations posted in the 30-day window — none of these resulted in an emergency-order closure (those are in Red Alert). They are the near-miss watch list: restaurants that drew inspector attention but stayed open. Any of them could receive a follow-up inspection. The recurring violation labels were HP and INT. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: a high-priority violation is the state saying the risk can touch food safety right now. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- VINTAGE ON 5THCrystal River6 HP2 INT6 BASPestScore 676last visit 2026-02-11
- K-POT KOREAN BBQ & HOT POTSt. Petersburg3 HP2 INT5 BASPestScore 375last visit 2025-12-08
- SALEM'S FRESH EATSTampa6 HP1 INT4 BASScore 614last visit 2026-04-06
- RED THREADSt. Petersburg3 HP3 INT1 BASPestScore 381last visit 2026-01-06
- THAI LANNA 2Port Richey4 HP5 INT8 BASPestScore 508last visit 2026-06-11
+193 more in this section on the live site.
Chronic Violation Record
229 records this window
Active enforcement targets and repeat offenders: restaurants carrying emergency-order history, chronic 11-year systemic violation patterns, or cross-flag enforcement tiers.
The menu did not mention this part, naturally: 229 restaurants with chronic violation records surface in Tampa Bay on the 11-year pattern view, led by CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUB, EL TENAMPA. The full repeat-offender record sits below. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: chronic violation record is our shorthand for an 11-year repeat-offender pattern, not a verdict on the operator. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- CITRUS SPGS GOLF&COUNTRY CLUBCitrus SpringsActive bad actorlast visit 12/01/2025
- EL TENAMPASt. PetersburgActive bad actorCurrently Activelast visit 01/13/2026
- ROCKING CRABSt. PetersburgActive bad actorlast visit 10/16/2025
- GREEN TEAPort RicheyActive bad actorlast visit 02/23/2026
- KAWA JAPANESE STEAK HOUSE & SUSHINew Port RicheyActive bad actorlast visit 06/05/2026
+224 more in this section on the live site.
Closures
59 records this window
The closed-door file: confirmed shutdowns, owner-validated closure posts, DBPR status signals, and external places data that say service has stopped.
Somewhere between the mop sink and the mangroves, the facts arrived: GOOD INTENTIONS in St. Petersburg, RED MESA CANTINA in St. Petersburg and TASO ITALIANO in New Port Richey topped the Tampa Bay ledger this round. 5 closures confirmed via news, state action, or multiple agreeing social signals. Another 4 surfaced from single-source social signals and remain under review — reported, not confirmed. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: a closure signal is evidence a place may have gone dark; only verified tier-4 records are confirmed permanent closures.
- GOOD INTENTIONSSt. Petersburgclosure score 3
- RED MESA CANTINASt. Petersburgclosure score 3
- TASO ITALIANONew Port Richeyclosure score 3
- SMOKEY BONES BAR & FIRE GRILL #7588Clearwaterclosure score 3
- CRAZY GIRLSLargoclosure score 1
+54 more in this section on the live site.
New Owners
53 records this window
DBPR ownership-change records in the last 30 days — "Approve Change Owner Request" actions.
Only in Florida does this read like routine paperwork: HER BAR in Oldsmar, COURTYARD CAFE in Palm Harbor and PROPER PINT in Holiday carried the front of this Tampa Bay file. 53 ownership-change filings posted in the 30-day window. Trend line: ownership-change volume is even with the last public cut. These are operator turnovers — a new owner-of-record on an existing license — not closures, cancellations, or revocations. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: an ownership-change filing means a new operator took over the license; it does not mean the restaurant closed. The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- HER BAROldsmar
- COURTYARD CAFEPalm Harbor
- PROPER PINTHoliday
- ANF GYROS AND GRILLPlant City
- BEN'S PIZZABrandon
+48 more in this section on the live site.
Chain Activity
115 records this window
Multi-location chain brands flagged via aggregated signals across all locations.
If you squint past the palm trees, the report is plain: 115 chain brands surface in Tampa Bay’s rollup, covering 466 locations between them: 162 FSQ-confirmed closures, 33 lapsed licenses. Leading brands: Subway, Dunkin', Sub Tenn Llc. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: a chain rollup groups related brand locations so one sloppy operator cannot hide inside a familiar logo. The inspectors merely wrote down the punchline.
- SubwayFlorida96 flagged locations
- Dunkin'Florida116 flagged locations
- Sub Tenn LlcFlorida16 flagged locations
- KfcFlorida26 flagged locations
- Dunkin'Florida14 flagged locations
+110 more in this section on the live site.
Openings
302 records this window
New DBPR licenses plus confirmed opening signals: the places that just joined the map and still need their first public-record track record.
Down here, the inspector's clipboard reads like fiction: Tampa Bay ledger: 302 opening signals. 122 announced via FB/news/operator signal; 639 DBPR/event-ledger new-license records; 82 reopening, transfer, or reissue records tracked outside the new-opening headline. Current names include HUNGRY HOWIES in San Antonio, CARIBBEAN CAFE & BITES in Lutz and FATHEAD GOURMET PIZZA in Largo. Ledger type mix: 639 new-license records and 122 announcement-led records and 49 ownership-transfer openings. Cuisine/venue mix: 550 Unknown and 35 Fast Food. Area concentration: 252 TAMPA and 78 CLEARWATER. Velocity check: 349 opening signals in the last 90 days, 143 in the last 30. Dated opening signals run from 2025-07-01 to 2026-06-18. RiskyEats treats these as opening signals: license issue, announcement, or operational evidence can precede the first routine inspection, so the paragraph does not imply a clean inspection history. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: an opening signal starts with licensing or source-confirmed evidence, not wishful ribbon-cutting. The swamp, for once, is not the problem.
- HUNGRY HOWIESSan Antonio
- CARIBBEAN CAFE & BITESLutz
- FATHEAD GOURMET PIZZALargo
- N/ATampa
- SHELBY'S DUCK TRUCK 2Tampa
+297 more in this section on the live site.
Clean Plates
502 records this window
Restaurants with multiple inspections in the current quarter and zero high-priority or intermediate violations.
Tropical storm or no, the citations keep landing: 502 Tampa Bay licensees ran a clean Q2 2026 ledger across multiple inspections — PHO KIEN GIANG, TACOS GONE MOBILE, CAPTAIN JACK'S WATERFRONT GRILLE among them. These are repeat visits with zero high-priority or intermediate violations — the operators rewarded for consistency, not one lucky inspection. PHO KIEN GIANG stretched a high-priority-free run to 33 inspections covering roughly 8.2 years. For civilians not fluent in state paperwork: a clean plate means the recent inspection record stayed quiet where the state was looking.
- PHO KIEN GIANGPinellas Park
- TACOS GONE MOBILETampa
- CAPTAIN JACK'S WATERFRONT GRILLETarpon Springs
- THE REEFMadeira Beach
- CHINA TASTEBrooksville
+497 more in this section on the live site.